When most people search the Web they simply type a few words or a sentence into Google and see what comes back. This works a lot of the time, but if you are searching a complex topic and need some precision, there are other techniques to use. Conducting Web searches on complex topics such as inventions can seem like an intimidating task. Fortunately, they are not as bad as they may appear. By organizing information a little bit before searching the Web, the task becomes much easier. Continue reading
Author Archives: fwinventors
Indiana Tech’s WarriorHack
Today’s article is a report about the recent WarriorHack at IndianaTech. We are pleased to have Mark Richter join LightSwitch! as a guest author. Mark is the Executive Director of the Center for Creative Collaboration (C3), which is the organization that put the WarriorHack together. The C3 also sponsors the Fort Wayne Inventors Club by offering its offices for our meeting space. Needless to say, we love the C3. Now, without further delay, here is Mark’s report…
The first annual WarriorHack took place over a 24-hour period beginning at 6:00 pm on February 20, 2015 and ending at 6:00 pm on February 21. The event took placed in the Multi-Flex Auditorium and Theater on Indiana Tech’s Fort Wayne campus. Most of the attendees were from the Fort Wayne area, but some came from as far as Detroit, Indianapolis, and Louisville. The event was kicked off by a welcome from Bill Soards, President of AT&T Indiana. Continue reading
Pilot Studies
Small independent inventors have several cost effective tools available for refining ideas and preventing the waste of limited resources. We have already addressed inexpensive prototyping, which is one such tool, in an earlier article. Pilot studies, which are sometimes referred to as pilot tests, pilot experiments, or pilot programs, are another method to explore an idea. Learning the flaws in an idea early can prevent the waste of time and money later. Continue reading
An Inexpensive Prototyping Technique for the Independent Inventor
You have an idea, but you are not really sure what to do first. One of the first things you can do is to create an inexpensive prototype. This will help you visualize what you want to accomplish and evaluate its feasibility. There are several types of prototypes. The low-fidelity type, which is the subject of this article, is very economical when compared to other prototyping methods. Continue reading
Hacking to Create Tech Buzz in NE Indiana
Hackathons serve several purposes, one of which is to create buzz about technology. The Center for Creative Collaboration at Indiana Tech has designed the WarriorHack, a 24-hour marathon hackathon for precisely that purpose. It begins on February 20, 2015 at 6:00 pm and will be held on Fort Wayne’s Indiana Tech campus. The WarriorHack provides technology enthusiasts with an opportunity to demonstrate technical skill and create a new product, as well as to promote tech innovation in northeastern Indiana. It is not the first hackathon in the local area, but it will reportedly be the largest one in northeastern Indiana to date. Continue reading
